Charlottetown Accord

The Charlottetown Accord was a package of constitutional amendments, proposed by the Canadian federal and provincial governments in 1992. It was submitted to a public referendum on October 26 of that year, and was defeated.

The aftermath

With the Charlottetown Accord defeated, the Constitution Act, 1982, remains unratified by the Quebec National Assembly. As of 2005, no further attempts to negotiate an agreement have been made.

Related Topics:
Quebec National Assembly - 2005

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Mulroney, already deeply unpopular with Canadian voters who perceived him as arrogant and out of touch with the public, had made a number of mistakes in the referendum campaign. Most famously, while speaking about the dangers of voting against an agreement that might represent Quebec's last opportunity to have its traditional demands met within Confederation, he ripped a piece of paper in half with a dramatic flourish. This came to be regarded as one of the defining images of his tenure as Prime Minister, with many voters seeing overtones of belligerence, intimidation and American-style image politics. As well, following the Accord's defeat, he was criticized for calling the process "a roll of the dice," which voters interpreted as meaning that he was gambling with the country's future.

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By February 1993, Mulroney announced his retirement as leader of the Progressive Conservatives and as Prime Minister. In June, the leadership -- and the Prime Minister's office -- was won by Kim Campbell, who ultimately proved unable to distance herself from the public's anger at Mulroney. On October 25, 1993, a year less a day after the Charlottetown referendum, the PCs were decimated in the federal election. Their base was splintered, defecting in Ontario to the Liberals, in Quebec to the separatist Bloc Québécois, and in the West to the Reform Party, leaving the PCs with just two members of Parliament. In the next decade, the PCs never surpassed 20 seats in the House of Commons, and in 2003, they merged with Reform's successor, the Canadian Alliance, to form the Conservative Party of Canada.

Related Topics:
Progressive Conservatives - Kim Campbell - October 25 - 1993 - Federal election - 2003 - Canadian Alliance - Conservative Party of Canada

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The Quebec independence movement, in turn, was fortified by the results. In 1993, Quebec Liberal Party youth committee president Mario Dumont, who had campaigned against Charlottetown, quit the Liberals, and formed the Action démocratique du Québec in 1994. The party was led by Jean Allaire for a few months, but after he stepped down Dumont took over the leadership, and has been the party's leader ever since. Although the ADQ has never elected more than five members to the Quebec National Assembly, it has become a significant force in Quebec politics, winning almost 20 per cent of the popular vote in the 2003 Quebec provincial election.

Related Topics:
Quebec Liberal Party - Mario Dumont - Action démocratique du Québec - 1994 - Jean Allaire - Quebec National Assembly - 2003 Quebec provincial election

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In 1994, Bourassa stepped down as premier of Quebec and was replaced by Daniel Johnson, Jr., who lost the 1994 election to the separatist Parti Québécois, led by Jacques Parizeau. Parizeau's government then held a referendum in 1995 on sovereignty. The Yes campaign, led by Bloc Québécois leader Lucien Bouchard, was only narrowly defeated (50.6 per cent No to 49.4 per cent Yes.) Dumont and the ADQ campaigned on the Yes side in this referendum, although in subsequent election campaigns he promised a ten-year moratorium on sovereignty referendums.

Related Topics:
Daniel Johnson, Jr. - 1994 election - Jacques Parizeau - Referendum in 1995 - Lucien Bouchard

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The PQ was defeated in the 2003 election, and former federal Progressive Conservative leader Jean Charest, now the leader of the provincial Quebec Liberal Party, became premier. The current formula supported by the Quebec Liberals since the Health Care Renewal Accord is asymmetrical federalism, meaning national agreements would not apply uniformly to each province and that Quebec could negotiate distinct provisions to retain more administrative powers.

Related Topics:
2003 election - Jean Charest - Quebec Liberal Party - Asymmetrical federalism

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In 2004, the ADQ unveiled a new constitutional platform which proposed declaring Quebec an autonomous state within the Canadian federation.

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